The Peripheral Component Interface (PCI) bus is a high performance 32-bit or 64-bit bus with multiplexed address and data lines. The bus is intended for use as an interconnect mechanism between highly integrated peripheral controller components, peripheral add-in cards, and processor/memory systems. PCI is a widely accepted and implemented expansion standard.
Hardware vendors of PCI device(s) have pressure from the computer marketplace to have software in place as PCI device(s) become available. This has traditionally lead to limited time and/or ability to debug software for the PCI device(s). Additional problem(s) can occur when the PCI device(s) require infrastructure from operating system(s). The introduction of Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) standard for cards inserted into the side of laptop computers, Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard, and Bluetooth standard for wireless communication are examples of situations in which hardware device(s) were introduced with little or no operating system infrastructure facilitating interconnection.